A Deeply Weird Empire Of The Sun Instagram Post Has Caused A Whole Lot Of Drama
Fans are not happy.
Empire of the Sun have come under fire for posting a tribute to controversial Christian evangelist Billy Graham on Instagram.
Graham — who was arguably best known for his insanely homophobic and anti-semitic views — died yesterday aged 99. As a tribute to his passing, Empire of the Sun posted a photo of the reverend on the band’s official Instagram, complete with the caption “God bless the great Billy Graham.”
The post was immediately criticised by the band’s fans, who pointed Graham’s strong support for gay conversion therapy and his opposition to abortion. More awkwardly, the post was criticised by Empire of the Sun member Nick Littlemore, who commented: “Not all of us are interested in celebrating the life of a bigot.”
Littlemore also confirmed he didn’t run the EOTS social media accounts, and he was “quite upset” to see the post.
His comments did little to stop the criticism, and the band’s Facebook page has since been flooded by angry fans.
Littlemore’s comment seems to indicate the tribute was posted by EOTS frontman Luke Steele, who is a devout Christian.
The two bandmates are famously distant: they rarely talk, and for the last few years Steele has been toured solo as Empire of the Sun, following the release of their 2016 record Two Vines.
The band, or their management, have yet to respond to the backlash.